Filmmaker Haile Gerima to speak at
screening of his latest work

Haile Gerima, an Ethiopian-born filmmaker,
producer and Howard University professor, will
introduce his latest film, Adwa: An African
Victory, at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 2, in
Kresge Auditorium on the Stanford University
campus.

Gerima's presentation will be the keynote
event of a larger celebration, ADWA 2000,
commemorating the Ethiopian victory over Italian
colonial aggression at the Battle of Adwa on
March 2, 1896. The film traces the history of the
battle through the voices of historians, poets
and others familiar with the Battle of Adwa.

Gerima is the first major director to bring
the story of Adwa to the screen. The celebrated
filmmaker and scholar of the African Diaspora
attended the University of California at Los
Angeles and completed bachelor's and master's
degrees in film studies. Currently, he is a
professor in the radio, television and film
department at Howard University.

Gerima is best known for his provocative and
innovative style of filmmaking that incorporates
aspects of historical accounts with traditional
forms of storytelling. He came into prominence
with his film, Harvest ­ 3000 Years, that
focused on the struggles of the Ethiopian
peasantry. Since the release of that film in
1976, Gerima has made seven more films that have
earned him international notoriety and acclaim.
With the release of Sankofa in 1993,
Gerima established himself as one of the most
prominent and revered independent black
filmmakers of his time. Sankofa was hailed
as a monumental achievement in the realm of both
film and historical representation. The film won
the Best Cinematography Award at the Pan African
Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou
(FESPACO) in Burkina Faso, first prize in the
African Film Festival and the Oscar Micheaux
Award.

Gerima will spend March 2 as a guest of the
Stanford Ethiopian Student Union (SESU) on
campus.

"As Stanford students concerned about the
representation of African history in Black
Liberation Month," said SESU President Abel
Bogale, "we are very interested in
celebrating the history of Ethiopia with the
Stanford community and the larger Bay Area
community."